1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a load driving circuit configured to convert a DC current into an AC voltage, or to convert a DC voltage into a DC voltage, so as to drive a load.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, liquid crystal TVs, which provide a display having a thin shape and a large size, have been becoming popular as replacements for CRT-based TVs. Liquid crystal displays include multiple cold cathode fluorescent lamps (which will be referred to as “CCFLs” hereafter) or external electrode fluorescent lamps (which will be referred to as “EEFLs” hereafter) arranged on the back face of a liquid crystal panel on which video images are to be displayed, which are used as light-emitting backlights.
For example, a driving circuit for a fluorescent lamp includes an inverter configured to convert a DC input voltage obtained by smoothing a commercial AC voltage into an AC driving signal. The inverter is configured to adjust the driving signal such that the electrical state of the load, e.g., the current that flows through the load approaches a target value that corresponds to the desired luminance level.